


A Sticky Situation

by happyaspie



Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Back-up plan, But he's trying, Humor, James "Rhodey" Rhodes Saves the Day, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Late Night Conversations, Mishaps, Peter Parker is a Mess, Photographic Evidence, Precious Peter Parker, The Princess Bride References, Tony Stark Is Not Helping, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, Web-shooter Malfunction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-28 04:56:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20420282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Using new web-fluid before it's testedmay not have been Peter's best choicebut it had seemed like a good idea at the time... Right up until he ended up webbinghimselfto a wall.  In comes Tony Stark to the rescue...exceptit's not that easyand he ends up a bit stranded himself.  ...that leaves it to Rhodey to save the day but not until he gives Tony a really hard time about it.





	A Sticky Situation

Peter swung from building to building chasing after the largest of the men who had just robbed the bank at the corner of Main and 76th. He started off by trying to wrangle them together but it quickly got out of control and he ended up having to zero in on the leader of the crew while his AI tracked and reported the location of the others to the police. All of this would have been thrilling and exhilarating had he not just spent the last two hours trying to make the perfect hammock between the two tallest buildings in the city. As such his web fluid was running dangerously low.

At some point, in order to reserve supplies, he resorted to hopping from vehicle to vehicle in traffic trying to catch up with the car the criminal had stolen. Then just when he thought all hope was lost and he was starting to get frustrated the man swerved into an alley and dove out of the car. Still in pursuit, Peter went back to using his webs so that he didn't lose track of the man in the dark twisted alleyways but soon regretted every decision he'd made that evening. With a flick of his right web-shooter came...nothing. Same with the left and he was suddenly out of options. "Ah, come on!", he shouted in frustration as he willed one more web to come flying from his wrist but it didn't happen. All he seemed to have done was to gain the attention of the man he'd been chasing as well as several other men who had seemingly been waiting for them.

"Looks like your arsenal's run dry Bug-Boy.", the biggest of the men said with a smug look on his face. 

It was right about then that Peter remembered he had a couple 'experiment' vials of a new web formula in his belt. It was meant to be tested in the lab the next day but feeling cornered and decidedly out of any other ideas Peter attempted to draw their attention away from what he was about to do, in the best way he knew how. With his mouth. "Actually. Spiders aren't _technically_ bugs. They're arachnids. Eight legs and all that. I think I learned that in fourth grade but I can see how someone with so little--"

"--Shut your mouth _boy_! Or I swear to God I'm going to yank that mask right off your face and shove it in there to shut you up myself", another threatened just as Peter was getting the old cartridges discharged and was beginning to insert the new ones. "Why do you wear a mask anyway? Some kind of fashion statement?"

By the time the man had issued his question Peter was ready to web all five men up and had the perfect movie quote response in mind. "Oh no. It's just that they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.", he shouted with glee as he webbed each one of them to the wall. As he took off out of one alley and into another to make his quick exit the new fluid seemed to jam up in his web-shooters. "Not now, not now, not now...", he started chanting as he switched from swinging to running while furiously snapping his wrist together in a wild attempt to get mechanics working again. When that failed he found a quiet spot to between two buildings to attempt to unjam them. Then it happened. The second he stuck the small screwdriver he carried with him the appropriate place to dislodge the useless and stubbornly attached vial it exploded sending strings of web everywhere, the force knocking him into a wall.

While he was trying to decide what had gone wrong that would cause that much force to come from such small canister he realized something very important. Something like the fact that he was solidly plastered to the wall behind him. In his own webs. The entire predicament seemed preposterous because since when do spiders get stuck in their own webs? _'Since you're not really a spider'_, he thought begrudgingly to himself as he tried to come up with a solution. His usual webs dissolved completely after about two hours but he had no idea how this concoction was going to work. "Karen? Any ideas on how I can get out of this?", he asked his AI in defeat. He knew full well what the answer was going to be.

"I do not. However, based on my calculations I believe you can expect the webs to have dissolved enough for your enhanced strength to break through them in approximately ninety minutes."

"Yeah. That's what I thought. What time is it now?"

"It is currently eleven-thirty-two. Being that it's a Tuesday night, your curfew is set for midnight."

"Great. Just great. How am I supposed to get home by midnight?", he grumbled to himself more than anything else but the AI responded all the same.

"Tony Stark keeps a supply of your web dissolving in his lab. Would you like for me to initiate contact?"

Giving it some thought, he finally decided that Tony laughing at him would be way less offensive than May yelling at him for climbing in through his window after one in the morning. "Fine. Call Mr. Stark."

It was a matter of seconds before Tony's face was overtaking the corner of Peter's HUD. "Hey, uh, Mr. Stark. What's up?", he asked in an attempt to sound casual.

Squinting his eyes and obviously scanning Peter's vitals, Tony frowned. "What's up? That's it? That's why you called?", he asked suspiciously because the kid's vitals seemed fine other than a slightly elevated heart rate. "I mean don't get me wrong I love it when you call me just to chat. I'm just not used to you doing that while you're out on patrol."

Trying to smile, Peter laughed lightly. "I uh, I may be in a bit of a_ situation."_, he admitted calmly but when Tony's eyes went from confused to concerned he felt the need to clarify quickly. "I mean, I'm not hurt or anything like that. I'm fine. Just, well... stuck."

"Stuck.", Tony replied in a tone that was somewhere between a question and a statement. "Stuck how?"

Blushing slightly, Peter's already forced smile faltered a bit. "Well, Mr. Stark, you know that new web fluid I wanted us to test tomorrow?"

At this point, Tony already had a vague idea of where this was going on and groaned. "Please tell me you didn't web _yourself_ to a wall."

"I didn't web myself to a wall?"

"Are you asking me or telling me, kid?", Tony replied with an exasperated laugh, already pinpointing the boy's location and grabbing a few bottles of the web dissolvent they used from time to time in the lab. "I'll be there in twenty. Hang in there."

Sighing heavily, Peter ended the call and began to pray that no one happened down the small alley he was in. That was not an image he wanted to see trending on any social media site. 'Spider-man Caught in His Own Webs' sounded like a horrible headline to have to deal with. As he dangled there awaiting rescue his mind provided several more, less than ideal headlines that could stem from this mishap. Then, after what felt like a very long time he looked to see how many minutes had passed only to groan in response. It had only been seven minutes. Seven very long minutes that were leaving him feeling restless and increasingly claustrophobic. 

By the time, Tony arrived Peter's heart rate had increased significantly as he wiggled his fingers and tried to remind himself that this was temporary. He would be free in moments. "Hey, kid. How's it hangin'?", Tony teased as he lifted the faceplate to reveal his trademark smirk. However, that only lasted for so long before he realized that Peter was on the very brink of losing his mind. "You're alright. I've got you. Calm down."

"I need out. Get me out. Get me out. Get me out.", Peter frantically voiced as Tony approached him a speed that he was deeming entirely to slow despite the fact the man was sprinting towards him.

"I'm coming, Pete. Breathe, Buddy.", he said softly as he began to work the dissolvent into the webs wrapped tightly around his right arm. The new web solution had been created to be stronger. It was meant to be useful with particularly strong foes. _Avenger level fights_. Though so far all it had proved to be was an unstable nuisance. "This doesn't seem to be working that great. I'm going to try to cut through it with a laser."

Peter nodded his head and closed his eyes as the man began to carefully cut through the webbing and once he had one arm free he was able to breathe again. Something was better than nothing and he no longer felt as trapped. Of course, the good feeling only lasted for so long because as Tony started working in the other arm he knicked the still intact web canister causing it to also explode. 

The biggest problem with that was that due to the angle of the blow, Tony was now stuck too. Not only in his suit, as it was covered in the significantly more durable webs but also to Peter's wrist and onto the wall beside him.

Thankful that his one arm was still free, Peter glanced down at his other and couldn't help but laugh. Mostly because if he thought he looked ridiculous before, now Ironman was stuck beside him and it looked as though they were holding hands. "Karen thinks that it should dissolve enough for me to be able to pull myself out in an hour but I need to get home. May is going to kill me. It's a _school night_.", Peter replied with renewed worry. He had exactly four minutes to get home and that was clearly not going to be happening. "Can, can you call her or something, Mr. Stark?"

"Why can't you call her, kid?", Tony asked incredulously. The last thing he wanted to do was call May and tell her that he'd botched her nephew's intended rescue. He was a superhero for crying out loud. Then again, so was Peter. So really neither of them had a great excuse here.

"...because I'm _with you_ and you're the one who's always pointing out that you're the adult, Mr. Stark.", Peter huffed wishing he could cross his arms over his chest. Of all the days this had to happen on a Tuesday. A Tuesday that May was off and would defiantly notice him coming in entirely too late at that.

Realizing the kid_ maybe_ had a point he growled quietly to himself and had FRIDAY dial her number. "Hi, May. It's Tony. I just wanted to let you know that your nephew's with me. He's fine and I'll have him home as soon as possible.", he said the second the woman answered the phone. Generally, if he was calling it was bad news and he didn't want her to worry any more than nessesary.

"Why is he with you? It's a school night and he has a curfew, which I know you know about because you helped me set it.", she said in mild confusion. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

Sighing, Tony tried to make himself sound more cheerful than he felt. "Perfectly okay. Absolutely peachy. We're just, um... working on a few things that can't really be out off but I assure you everything is fine an he'll be home, uh.... soon."

May sighed because if she had learned anything in the last few months, it was that Tony was charismatic in every way and hearing him resort to um's and uh's wasn't a good sign. "Do you really expect me to believe that?", she asked knowingly.

"Yes?", Tony asked, cringing as he did so but when May said nothing for several seconds he broke. "Alright, fine. The kid had a bit of a web malfunction that _was not my fault_ and now we're both webbed to a wall somewhere in Queens."

"Seriously?", she asked in disbelief before breaking down into giggles as she tried to imagine the scene. "So, let me get this straight. The two of you are stuck on that wall until what... this stuff disappears?"

"Not exactly.", Tony said with a sigh. "At some point, it'll weaken its self enough that the kid can break free and in theory help me break free." Then after a few moments of hearing nothing but laugher, Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm so glad you're amused. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go try to figure out how to get out of this mess without waiting for it to dissolve."

Already writing a note to get Peter excused from his first couple of classes in the morning, May laughed. "Good luck and make sure my kid gets home safe!", he replied just before ending the call.

Looking over at Peter who was sagging in his bindings and had his chin practically touching his chest he sighed. "That went well. You're not in trouble anyway."

Lifting his head, Peter tried to smile. "That's something I guess. Are we really going to have to wait like this for an hour?", he asked with a slight edge of anxiety lacing his tone.

Wiggling his own fingers around in an attempt to actually hold on to Peter's hand, Tony smiled. "I could try to call Rhodes. He could finish cutting you lose. I know how much you hate sitting still and all.", he said in what he hoped was reassurance but Peter's face seemed to have twisted into something unreadable. Not knowing what the kid was thinking was making him a little nervous himself. "What? What's wrong?"

Peter looked at Tony for only a moment before dropping his head again. "He's War Machine.", Peter nearly whined as if that should be explanation enough.

"Yeah... and he has lasers that can cut you free. What's the problem kid?"

"The problem is that I don't want _the War Machine_ to have to rescue me from _my own webs_, Mr. Stark. It's, it's _embarrassing_."

Feeling _almost_ insulted and _slightly_ defensive, Tony scoffed. "You called me and I'm Ironman. What's the difference?", he asked unsure if he really wanted to hear the answer or not. He'd been pretty sure he was the kids favorite and now it sounded like maybe he wasn't. More so, he couldn't figure out why it mattered to him in the first place but clearly it did. 

"Well, you're _you_.", Peter said as he raised his free arm up in frustration. He wasn't sure why Tony couldn't see the difference here. It was pretty obvious. Tony wasn't just Ironman any more and while he still respected him and he was still super awesome, he was also the guy that relentlessly teased him and helped him with his homework sometimes. Unlike, War Machine who he'd only met a few times and was still _just_ super awesome without the added familiarity. "I know _you_ and you've seen me do stupid stuff before."

Rolling his eyes, Tony looked beside him and smiled softly. "Personally, I want out of this mess. I'm going to give him a call. I promise he won't give you a tease you too much. He'll be entirely too focused on giving me a hard time.", he said with a small laugh before putting in the distress call.

Several minutes later, Rhodes landed directly in front of them grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, this. This right here is _golden_.", he said as he started to walk towards Tony who was staring back at his friend with his jaw clenched. "In fact, I'm wondering if I should take advantage of this situation and start lecturing you. Now, where should I begin...? Oh! I know. How about sleep schedules. ...or the importance of three meals a day--"

"--Just cut the kid lose.", Tony half-heartedly groused. He'd been expecting that and frankly hearing Peter stifle a laugh beside him was worth putting up with it for a bit. It meant the kid wasn't anxious or upset and that was good enough for him.

Still smiling, Rhodes pulled his phone out of seemingly nowhere and began snapping pictures. "That is adorable, by the way.", he added as he snapped a few shots of their hands where they had been forced together by the webs. Then once he was done collecting all of the blackmail he would ever need on his friend, he turned his attention to Peter. "Geez, kid. Of all the people you could stick yourself to, you chose him?"

"It wasn't like this was on purpose.", Peter grumbled under his breath before smiling slightly. "Besides, he's the one who got himself stuck to me." 

Tony snapped his head to the side and half-glared at the kid but he was still smiling. "Kid! You do realize that I was only here because you called me, right? You got _yourself_ into this mess and then dragged me into it!", Tony laughed causing Peter to smile and glare right back at him.

"Yeah, but,_ to be fair,_ I called you to help me. Not for you to _stick yourself to me_.", Peter returned in mock annoyance as Rhodes smiled between them. Despite Peter's earlier reservations he wasn't the least bit bothered by Rhodes presence but maybe that's because the teasing felt so natural and he had, as predicted, picked on Tony the most. From there it was easy for Peter to play along. Which was kind of good because it took his mind off of the fact that his stomach had long since grown empty and that the fingers on his still bound hand were starting to go numb.

"Hmm... Well, let's not forget that _I'm the one_ who called your aunt to get _you_ out of trouble _and_ I'm also the one who called the man who's about save your little spider butt. _First_ I might add. At my insistence. _You should be thanking me_, kid."

"Oh hush, Tony. I would have cut him free first anyway.", Rhodes quipped as Peter stuck his tongue out in Tony's direction.

Squinting his eyes in amusement more so than irritation, Tony looked from his friend to Peter and back again. "Traitor.", he grumbled leading the kid into a fit of laughter but he didn't mind because really, it was one of the best sounds he'd ever heard.

Ignoring Tony's outburst, Rhodes smiled at Peter. "You two are quite the pair, huh?", he said as he leaned in to start freeing Peter's other arm. "It's like you two belong together."

Tony rolled his eyes while Peter blushed and nothing else was said until Peter was free. "Oh, thank God! My arm was starting to go numb and I swear my stomach is eating its self as we speak!", Peter dramatically declared as soon as his feet hit the ground. "Thank you, Mr. Rhodes! I would have been stuck there for an hour without you."

"No problem, kid. Should we go get you something to eat or something?", he asked, essentially turning his back on Tony who was still solidly connected to the wall, save for the hand that had been freed along with Peter's.

"Hey! What about me?", Tony called out loudly from the wall, watching in horror as Rhodes started to lead Peter away from him. 

Turning around, Rhodes crossed his arms over his chest. "What about you?", he said with a teasing grin. "You told me to cut the kid loose. You didn't say anything about you."

"Yeah? Well, it was implied.", Tony grumbled, already planning out everything thing he was going to do to his friend the moment he was liberated. However, his thoughts were interrupted when the two of them once again started walking away. "Come on! Get back over here! You can't just leave me like this! Kid!"

Though as he was being led away Peter he was hesitantly watching his still restrained mentor from over his shoulder. They didn't get too terribly far before Peter was speaking up. "Mr. Rhodes? You're not really going to leave him there, right?", he asked in something between disbelief and concern.

Looking at the boy beside him, Rhodes sighed and gave in. It wasn't his plan to make the kid uncomfortable. His only goal had been to get Tony riled up. Which was working out swimmingly. "Not really. I just wanted to see him freak out.", He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders before telling his friend to shut up so that he could get him free.

The second the last web was cut from his side, Tony began to brush off the additional strings and clap his hands together. "Okay. Now_ I_ take the kid to get something to eat and y_ou_ can run along.", the told Rhodes with a smirk because two could play at that game and besides, Peter was _his kid. _

Glaring at Tony who was now, wrapping an armored arm about the still spandex-clad kid's shoulders, Rhodes shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't think so. I'm coming. ...and you're paying for it. _ I earned it._"

Looking at Peter, Tony asked, "What do you think kid? Should we let him come?", already knowing the answer. Peter wasn't likely to exclude Rhodes from the party. Expecially since he'd basically saved them only moments before. He was nice like that.

Peter smiled back because he knew that Tony wouldn't really leave his friend behind. Well, he hoped he wouldn't anyway. "Yeah. He did save us and all that."

"Fine.", Tony sighed out as if sitting down to eat at just before one in the morning with his kid and his best friend was the worst possible thing that could have come out of the evening. "Let's go. There's a twenty-four-hour diner on the corner and I hear they have excellent pancakes."

...and that's how Ironman, Spider-man and War Machine all ended up sitting by the window of a quiet little diner by the street, laughing. That is until May called to inquire of their whereabouts. Though she wasn't upset. Not after a few pictures showed up on her phone (and probably Happy's and Pepper's as well) moments later. ...and if one of those pictures ended up trending on Social media, highlighting their 'sticky situation'... well, no one needed to know it was her.


End file.
